1. Field of Invention
The present invention is a low profile adapter for use with conventional sockets and ratchet wrench handles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The conventional ratchet wrench and accompanying set of sockets is an ubiquitous tool used by professional mechanics and do-it-yourselfers alike. Socket wrench sets and individual components are readily available from such national manufacturers as Snap-On Tools Corporation of Kenosha, Wisconsin, Craftsman brand tools from Sears, Roebuck & Company; NAPA brand tools from NAPA Auto Parts and numerous other domestic and foreign suppliers.
The conventional ratchet wrench has a square drive and is normally manufactured in six different sizes in America as follows: 1/4 inch; 3/8 inch; 1/2 inch; 3/4 inch; 1 inch; and 1 1/4 inch. Professional mechanics and some do-it-yourselfers will often own two or more different sized ratchet wrenches and accompanying sets of sockets. For example, many homeowners work on relatively small types of apparatuses and will purchase a 1/4 inch drive ratchet wrench and accompanying set of sockets. On occasion, the do-it-yourselfer may need something larger to apply more torque. For example, work on an automobile engine. In this circumstance, the do-it-yourselfer may purchase a 1/2 inch drive ratchet wrench and set of sockets, or perhaps even a 3/4 inch drive.
Professional mechanics will typically own a ratchet wrench in each of the five conventional sizes with an accompanying set of sockets. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the sockets are sized and dimensioned to operate with a specific size ratchet wrench. For example, a set of sockets that are sized to operate with a 1/2 inch ratchet wrench will not fit directly on a 3/8 inch drive ratchet wrench or a 3/4 inch drive ratchet wrench.
Those skilled in the art will be familiar with a tool which is generally referred to as an adapter. This tool is used as an intermediary component between the ratchet wrench and the socket. The adapter allows the operator to use a larger size socket with a smaller size wrench than would otherwise be functional. Adapters are commonly manufactured in the following five sizes in America: a 1/4 inch adapter will fit on a 1/4 inch drive ratchet wrench, allowing it to drive a socket with a 3/8 inch receptacle. A 3/8 inch adapter will fit on a 3/8 inch drive ratchet wrench, allowing it to drive a socket with a 1/2 inch receptacle. A 1/2 inch adapter will fit on a 1/2 inch drive ratchet wrench, allowing it to drive a socket with a 3/4 inch receptacle. A 3/4 inch adapter will fit on a 3/4 inch drive ratchet wrench, allowing it to drive a socket with a 1 inch receptacle. A 1 inch adapter will fit on a 1 inch drive ratchet wrench, allowing it to drive a socket with a 1 1/4 inch receptacle. Conventional adapters are useful in many different situations and are often sold in combination with a typical socket wrench set.
Conventional adapters fit in between the ratchet wrench and the socket and elongate the vertical height of these three items. This is sometimes a disadvantage when working in tight quarters. For example, a conventional 1/4 inch adapter will elongate the total vertical profile of the wrench and the socket by approximately 1/2 inch to 5/8 inch. A conventional 3/8 inch adapter will elongate the aforementioned profile by approximately 5/8 inch to 3/4 inch. A 1/2 inch adapter will elongate the aforementioned profile by approximately 7/8 inch to 1 inch. A conventional 3/4 inch adapter will elongate the aforementioned profile by approximately 1 1/8 inch to 1 3/8 inch. A conventional 1 inch adapter will elongate the aforementioned profile by approximately 1 1/4 inches to 1 5/8 inches. In the preferred embodiment, the low profile adapter allows the operator to use a small sized rachet and to mate it with a larger sized socket. The preferred embodiment of the present invention does not elongate the vertical profile of the ratchet wrench and the socket. This allows the preferred embodiment to be used in certain tight circumstances which cannot be reached with a conventional adapter.
Those skilled in the art will also be aware of another intermediate apparatus known as a spinner. Like the adapter, the spinner fits intermediate between a ratchet wrench and a socket. Unlike the adapter, a spinner has an enlarged wheel, or disk, that is knurled on the outside circumference so that it can be easily manipulated by the operator's thumb. The purpose of a spinner is to allow the operator to rapidly start a bolt or a nut by using the thumb and the enlarged disk. The spinner is used primarily to speed up operations where there is a substantial amount of slack that needs to be traversed before substantial torque can be exerted by the ratchet wrench.
As far as Applicant has been able to determine, the prior art spinners are compatible only with a specific sized drive and accompanying set of sockets. For example, the spinner would engage a 1/4 inch drive ratchet wrench and would fit into the receptacle of a 1/4 inch socket. Applicant is unfamiliar with any spinners that include the features of an adapter; i.e., being able to go from a 1/4 inch drive ratchet wrench to 3/8 inch drive socket.
Spinners are useful tools to mechanics and do-it-yourselfers; however, because they are an intermediary device, like the conventional adapter they lengthen the vertical profile of the ratchet and the socket when they are in use. For example, a 1/2 inch size spinner, manufactured by Williams, Part No. S-70, will increase the vertical height of the wrench and the socket by approximately 1 inch. A NAPA brand spinner, Part No. NB-15 for a 3/8 inch drive, will likewise increase the vertical profile of the rachet and the socket by approximately 1 inch. This increased vertical profile makes it difficult to use spinners and/or adapters in certain tight situations.
In several alternative embodiments of the present invention, the low profile adapter is, likewise, equipped with an enlarged disk, which acts as a spinner. The present invention, with a spinner, will not increase the vertical profile of the rachet wrench and the socket by more than 1/8 inch. This low profile is particularly useful in certain tight circumstances to speed up assembly and disassembly of certain apparatus.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,476, issued on Mar. 13, 1990 for a SOCKET WRENCH WITH IMPROVED HANDLE. The preferred embodiment of the wrench disclosed in the '476 patent has an outer cap, manufactured from a resilient material. The outer cap fits over a hemispherical stop on the square drive shaft. This embodiment operates in two alternative positions, which are referred to as "locked" and "unlocked." When operating in the "locked" mode, the outer cap locks onto a lug 42 so that this wrench can be moved to and fro like a conventional ratchet wrench and socket. When operating in the "unlocked" mode, the outer cap disengages the lug and the wrench is operated by a T-shaped handle. This wrench has a pair of pinion gears in the head which are operated by the T-shaped handle. Because the head includes these relatively large pinion gears, it is substantially thicker than the head of a conventional ratchet wrench which does not have these two pinion gears. Due to the increased head size of this wrench, it cannot be used in certain tight situations like a conventional ratchet wrench with the low profile adapter mounted thereon. The low profile adapter of the present invention is formed from metal and is intended to be easily attached and removed from a conventional square drive ratchet wrench that mates with conventional sockets. The outer cap of the '476 patent is formed from resilient material and is intended to stay on the wrench once it has been assembled. Because of the hemispherical stop on the drive shaft of the '476 wrench, it will not mate with conventional sockets, conventional adapters or conventional spinners unless the outer cap is placed thereon. The '476 wrench does not have the advantages of the present invention.
The present invention combines the advantages of prior art adapters and spinners with a low profile design so that, in tight circumstances, a larger socket can be used with a smaller drive ratchet wrench.